How to Write 凑 (còu) — Meaning “to gather together; to pool; to happen by chance”

Imagine you need to gather ice (冫) by playing a tune (奏) to attract everyone to help. The picture of people gathering to listen to music helps you recall the meaning of "to gather together." Another mnemonic: "Play (奏) music and ice (冫) cubes gather around your drink."

Write the left radical 冫 first: two short dots, the second a little lower and slanted. Then the right side 奏: start with a horizontal on top, then three stacked horizontals, a vertical stroke through the center, and finally a large stretch (捺) at the bottom. Common mistakes include making the bottom too wide or forgetting the vertical stroke of 奏.

All three share the radical 冫, but 凑 means "to gather" or "to pool," 凄 means "dreary" or "cold," and 准 means "standard" or "to permit." Visually, 凑 has 奏 on the right (many horizontals), 凄 has 妻 (a woman and a hand), and 准 has 隹 (a short-tailed bird).

凑 is a common spoken character used for informal gathering or making up numbers, like in 凑钱 (to pool money) or 凑热闹 (to join the fun). For example, friends might 凑钱 to buy a gift, meaning each chips in a little. It also appears in 凑巧 (coincidentally) to describe something happening by chance.

Common words containing 凑 include: 凑巧 (còu qiǎo) — coincidentally; by chance; 凑钱 (còu qián) — to pool money; to chip in; 凑数 (còu shù) — to make up the number; to serve as a stopgap.